Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis

Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis, Lav Diaz, Filipinas, OV (Tagalo, Spanish) with subtitles in English and Spanish

Various interconnected narrative threads on the Philippine Revolution of 1896-1897 against the Spanish colonial government make up Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis / A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery: the story of the ballad of Jocelynang Baliwag, which became the hymn of the revolution; Gregoria de Jesús’s desperate search for the body of the father of the Philippine Revolution, Andrés Bonifacio; the journey of the national heroes Simon and Isagani, who are fictional characters; and the role of the mythical hero of the Philippine resistance, Bernardo Carpio, and the half-man, half-horse Tikbalang / Engkanto in the Philippine psyche. This film represents a fusion of history, literature and mythology.

Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis / A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery, the 480 minute-long film by the Filipino director Lav Diaz about colonial oppression in his country, received the Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlinale, an award that recognises work that opens up new perspectives on cinematic art. The director of Melancholia, which won the Orizzonti Prize at Venice, is back in Zabaltegi, which in 2013 included the world premiere of Prologo sa ang dakilang Desaparecido / Prologue to The Great Desaparecido and Norte, hangganan ng kasaysayan / Norte, The End of the Story, after it had been screened in Un certain regard at Cannes.